Aqua Sea Glass - Where Does It Come From?

So I wanted to share with you a super cool find that we made while on our last seaglass trip back in March to the Jersey Shore.

We were wrapping up our beach foray for the day and my son looks over and finds what is left of a broken bottle. I was watching him from further down the beach as he tossed it down, and then seemed to reconsider and picked it back up and puts it in one of his cavernous pockets.

As you can see by the photo, you can clearly make out the 'S and possibly the letter before it is a 'R' or a 'B'. 

After doing some reading online and finding this really cool Historical Bottle Website, I found out that fonts that have those little 'appendages' on them are called 'Serif', the word being of uncertain origin, possibly from the Dutch word schreef meaning "line" or pen-stroke and were typical for bottles made between 1820 - 1910. 

Recently I had just gotten the 'Holy Grail' of Seaglassing books, 'Pure Seaglass', that was recommended to me almost unanimously from one of my seaglassing groups, and it had a wealth of information on bottles of that time frame, one being the medicinal bottle. 
I started searching for bottles that would end in a ---R'S and after some time, found AYER'S SARSAPARILLA. The picture matched my fragment! 

James Cook Ayer was a fascinating character! Born in 1818, his dad passed away when he was 7 and he was sent to live with his uncle and by 19 he was working in an apothecary (drug store). At 22 he went into business for himself making all types of concoctions that supposedly cured everything from the ague to baldness! He eventually wanted to follow in his uncles footsteps and go into politics, winning the nomination for the Republican seat for Congress, for Lowell Mass. He lost his bid however and the rejection was apparently too much for him to handle as his obituary stated that opposition to his candidacy was so strong he became unhinged. He was so violent he was confined to an insane asylum in New Jersey for months.
James Cook Ayer died at the age of 60 on July 3, 1878 in Winchendon, Mass.

The town of Ayer, Mass., was named after him.

So my bottle fragment is circa 1852 -1870 

So this was an excellent opportunity to show you how this: 

gets broken and tossed (or broken while being tossed) and looks like this: 

and finely after tossing around in the ocean for approximately 50 -100 years it can look like this: 

Then I find it and make it into something beautiful like this:

Light Blue Seaglass Necklace

Want to see something totally cool that I found too? I have a free download of the original 1860 NY Times Ayer's Sarsaparilla Ad!
Just tell me where to email it!

Get your free download here!

We thought that this was such a cool post that we made a short YouTube Video of it!
Come check it out here to hear my weird voice! 
Aqua Sea Glass Video

Want to see more pretty Seaglass Jewelry? Visit Handmade Jewelry Haven here!

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An Emerald Like No Other - May's Birthstone

May birthdays fall right in the heart of spring, and the emerald is the perfect gem to symbolize and celebrate this month. Prized for its brilliant and beautiful green color, the emerald is often favored by the rich and famous to wear as statement pieces for big events.

But this beautiful gem is just at home in an unassuming pendant as it is in an ornate tiara. Learn more about May’s birthstone below!

The emerald was mined in Egypt as early as 330 BC, but some estimate that the oldest emeralds are 2.97 billion years old.

Cleopatra is perhaps the most famous historical figure to cherish emeralds. She even claimed ownership of all emerald mines in Egypt during her reign.

The Egyptians used emeralds both in jewelry, and in their elaborate burials, often burying emeralds with monarchs as symbols of protection.

On the other side of the world, the Muzo Indians of Colombia had well-hidden and prized emerald mines. These mines were so hidden, it took the Spanish conquistadors nearly twenty years to find them.

Like other gemstones, the emerald was believed to have many mystical powers that accompanied its beauty. There were those who thought the emerald could cure stomach problems, control epilepsy and stop bleeding. Maybe due to its soothing green color, it was also thought to be able to ward off panic and keep the wearer relaxed and serene.

Today, emerald is a symbol of loyalty, new beginnings, peace and security, making it not

Seaglass Necklace

only a beautiful gem to wear, but also a meaningful gift to be treasured by the receiver. It is still widely prized by the rich and famous, with Elizabeth Taylor’s famous emerald pendant selling for $6.5 million in 2011.

Is this a little steep for your pocketbook? Well why not try on a Emerald Green Wire Wrapped Sea Glass Lariat Necklace at Handmade Jewelry Haven?

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source: American Gem Society


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Wordless Wednesday

Even though this is supposed to be a 'wordless' post...I wanted to give you a little teaser for my next Blog Post....so stay tuned..................

Purple Sea Glass

This beautiful piece of Sea Glass came from the Scottish Coast and was more than likely an ornate glass lid or base. You can see some other great seaglass specimens for sale at Scottish Beach Finds.

To see some gorgeous Sea Glass jewelry, be sure to visit Handmade Jewelry Haven!

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Wordless Wednesday

Not all beaches are created equal.....

Come find a piece of your beach at Handmade Jewelry Haven.

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Sea Glassing in New Jersey

Oh wow. It has been over a MONTH since I have posted! I bet you all thought that I got sucked into that famous north east under tow! 
Well, I didn't. I got sucked into 'life'.
Those of you who have experienced it will understand. The rest.....well........

Let me start with the trip. It was AMAZING!! You just cannot find seaglass in Florida like you can from up north. Hands down. Up north glassing has it covered.
You could live an entire lifetime in Florida and not find the treasures that you find up north!

The boys dropped Bella and I off in Bay Head and we hit the gate running. Bella found piece after glorius piece within 15 minutes. Our time was limited, so we called it a day after about an hour between the jettys.

Our next foray was at the beach at Spring Lake, and although that is a beautiful spot, we were not as lucky as we were in Bay Head. 

After visiting the Twin Lights, we headed over to the Coast Guard base at Sandy Hook. The Bay Side yielded the most interesting pieces, however, not what a 'seasoned glasser' would consider a 'finished' piece. Christian, my 15 year old, surprisingly, really got into this section finding my first violet seaglass.

After that we went to the ocean side and the three of us split up and scoured the mostly empty beach (the boy was done at this point and decided to wait in the car).
We ended up meeting the most pleasant woman named Pam (you can see her beautiful posts at @pammybaby2 on Instagram), who glassed this beach weekly and thought nothing to give us her entire haul for the day! Only up north will you find such generosity! I have said it before and I will say it again, New Jersey peeps RULE!!

The one not so great thing about our visit was that we did not get to visit Glass Bottle Beach at Dead Horse Bay.  Due to other constraints, we could not fit this in on the day we had allotted for it. So...there is always..'next time'.

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The Ocean's Emotions - Seafoam Green Seaglass

Sea Glass Necklace

Truly this is one of my favorite colors of seaglass and while the most common source for this lovely shade of light green glass was most likely an old Coco Cola bottle made in various parts of the country. The shades vary depending on the silica that was used. A lot of older white glass however, had a greenish tint and depending on thickness and whether bubbles are present, could be an old piece of rarer glass. New glass of this shade is still used for wine bottles.
50 In a 100 Sea Glass Pieces Found Will be Seafoam

Coke a Cola Seaglass

Green.
The general associations of the color green is the color of life, renewal, nature, and energy. It means growth, harmony, freshness, safety, and environment. Green is also traditionally associated with money, finances, banking, ambition, greed, jealousy, and wall street. We all like to 'make a little green'!

Wire Wrap Seaglass Earrings

To see some more beautiful seaglass jewelry creations, please visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy Page here.
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Beading To Relax

One of the reasons I love making jewelry so much is that it is relaxing. Especially doing kumihimo as it is so time consuming and repetitive. I get a design in my head, usually after several nights mulling this idea or that idea over and over before drifting off to sleep. Then I pick a night, gather my supplies, measure and cut the thread, loop it in half, tie it off, then string it onto the loom. I then do a few rounds without the beads, just to give me an end to be able to glue into an end cap. I then take the rest of the night, maybe two, to string all eight cords with the required amount of beads, around 120-130 per cord. I then start

Copper Wrapped Seaglass Pendant

weaving on the loom with the beads. It is very repetitive and you just start to go through the motions and your mind just starts to wander. Pretty soon you have a few inches on and it is starting to look beautiful! Then you just keep going until after a few hours, it is done! I am currently working on a Kumihimo Necklace to go with a beautiful copper wire wrapped piece of seaglass that I got from my cousin in New Jersey.  
I love that meditative state that you get in when doing something over and over. Your muscles start to relax and you just go with it. This week it has come in particularily handy as I have been having a rather 'trying' time lately.

To see some of my Kumihimo designs, come visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy Page here.

What do you like to do to relax?

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The Ocean's Emotions - Brown Sea Glass

Brown Seaglass is the most common color of seaglass found next to white and most of the time is from a beer bottle or, in some cases, an old medicine bottle. Brown glass is usually used to protect what it holds from the sun's ultraviolet rays, which can have a negative effect on the contents. The hops in most beers reacts to ultraviolet ray's, causing the hops to emit a bad odor. Unfortunatelym studies have shown that brown is not a very appetizing color and so most beers are bottled in different colored bottles. In a lot of these cases, a special type of non-reactive hops is used so that the beer will not turn when exposed to sunlight.
From a psycological standpoint, the color brown is associated with security, protection, and material wealth. It is a color of physical comfort (think hot chocolate - or chocolate in general), simplicity and quality. Brown sits beside words such as natural, organic, and the great outdoors.
Brown suppresses the emotions, creating a safe haven from the stresses of the outside world.

I have a lot of beautiful wood furniture in my house. I think of it as strong and long lasting. I love to run my hands along the grain of a piece of furniture that has been worn shiny

Wire Wrapped Brown Seaglass

through the years, such as you would find in a pew, in a church. I think of all the history behind that piece of wood. Who has sat there, prayed there, cryed there.

Come and see a beautiful piece of copper wire wrapped seaglass on Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy site.

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A Sea Glass Origin - Story #2

Round and round. Round and round. Spinning continuously until, at last, the life giving breath was given and it was born. Shaped narrowly near the top in order to help keep the bubbles from escaping, getting gradually wider towards the middle, continuing straight

down to the bottom to hold the required pint of golden liquid. The bottle was formed and shipped to the brewery where it was filled with the finest of brews. Along with its many brown brothers, the bottle of ale traveled by truck to one of many pubs along the route and was eventually dropped off. Stored in a cool cellar, the bottle did not have to wait long to fulfill its purpose. Brought up by the bar maid, and perched in front of a burly man who had worked tirelessly at the docks for the previous twelve hours carting trunks from the train to the many different ships that were in port. The porter was tired and glad to sit down to have his customary drink before heading home to the hot meal his wife would have waiting for him.

After the man left, the bottle was collected and washed, to be refilled from the tap that endlessly poured golden life from it, for, it seemed to the brown bottle, that every time someone would drink the ale, they would seem revived from the long day. People grew animated and talkative. The bottle marveled at the transformation and was so proud of his part in it all. He was a vessel of rejuvenation it seemed. 
Days and nights passed with the usual routine of filling, drinking, washing, and refilling. Of countless stories from people and objects of far off lands. Of different languages and strange clothing. Everything from the most casual of handling to pour the liquid into a glass to the firm grip of a sailors rough calloused hands worn thick by shipboard work. 
On his final day, the talk grew loud. Louder it got and he was picked up and slammed down by the angry man with such force that he shattered into many broken pieces. 
That night the bar maid, who was the first in the pub to introduce him to his first patron, swept him up and into a pail with so much other refuse, hauled him outside and pitched him over the bulkhead and into the cold water of the harbor.
For years the glass swept in and out with the tide. Over time being buried in the silt until it could no longer see the distant glint of the sun during the day.
Much time passed. New, and bigger ships were built and the harbor needed to be dredged to make it deeper for these new ocean going vessels. The dredging machine sucked the last remaining shard up and out into the churning water. It finally came to rest on the harbor floor near the moored boats. After a time a diver, who was hired to scrape the barnacles off of the keel of one of the boats, noticed something shiny glint on the dark sea bottom. He dove straight down and quickly collected it and shoved it in his rubber suit for later examination, as he wasn't paid to scavenge off the ocean floor. 

After his work day was at an end, he quickly rinsed and dried off and dressed into clean cloths and went to the tavern to have a drink or two with his buddies. Tonight there was a new waitress and she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. He remembered his shiny treasure from the sea bottom and pulled it out of his pocket along with some spare wire that he had left over from rewiring a switch earlier in the day. As he sat at the bar he thoughtfully wrapped the shard of glass in the wire, carefully allowing enough to make a bale at the top so that it could dangle freely from a chain. He waited until the bar closed and offered to walk the pretty waitress home and just before he left her, he presented her with his creation. 
She was just as smitten as he.

Come and see a seaglass creation on Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy site here.

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Wordless Wednesday

Here are some more wonderful trinkets courtesy of your oceans.....

Click here for more Wordless Wednesday fun and be sure to visit 

Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy Shop here.

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The Ocean's Emotions - White Sea Glass

Color has always played an important role in my life. Just like the style of the clothing you put on each day, color selection can have a big impact on others as well as yourself.

People pick out jewelry seemingly on a whim, however, studies suggest that there are deep emotional triggers that can cause us to pick out one colored stone over another.

Frosted or white Seaglass is the most commonly found color of the Seaglass family.

White is usually associated with new beginnings. It can bring a sense of cleanliness, and freshness.It lends an air of classiness and refinement. It is purity and goodness and light. It is also thought of as heavenly and lighter than air. White is considered a positive color and is associated with peacefulness.

I personally wear a lot of white. I find it professional at work and also find it easier to clean.

How does white make you feel?

Come check out some white Sea Glass at Handmade Jewelry Haven!



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